What’s wrong with Judge Samuel Alito?

There are many ways to answer this question. Judge Alito, the man they call "Scalito", has a political likeness to Antonin Scalia. He is a corporatist who some say is more concerned with conservative ideology rather than truth. He has consistently ruled against the individual in favor of the corporation and seems to be against a woman’s right to choose. US News and World Report has called him “"an activist conservatist judge” . He’s an ideologue who favors corporations over individuals.

Corporations are essentially feudal systems that stifle democracy and dominate the political arena.

The question beckons: Do we really want a conservative supreme court?

We’ve already been down that road.

In 1916 Congress made its first effort to control child labor by passing the Keating-Owen Act. Prior to Keating-Owen there were coutless abuses towards children in the work place.
In 1918 the Supreme Court ruled that the Keating-Owen Act was unconstitutional. The 1918 court was a conservative court.

The Recovery Act provided for the establishment of maximum hours, minimum wages, and the right to collective bargaining. It was struck down by the Supreme Court in May 1935; the Recovery Act was soon replaced by the Wagner Act which assured workers the right to unionize. The Wagner Act had to be passed by an overwhelming congressional majority. The 1935 court was a conservative court.

The judge's reputation over the last 15 years was such that corporate lawyers relished the prospect of his participation in cases, while plaintiff's lawyers hoped to avoid him.

"We're always happy to see Judge Alito on the panel," said Robert C. Heim, the head of the litigation department at Dechert, a large law firm based in Philadelphia that represents some of the nation's largest corporations, typically facing accusations of antitrust, securities or corporate law violations. "He's generally a good judge for the cases we argue because we generally argue that the state of law does not favor the case that the plaintiffs are making and he's generally very receptive to that. He doesn't give an expansive reading to antitrust laws or securities laws."

Officials at the National Association of Manufacturers and the United States Chamber of Commerce said that as they combed through his record, they had been favorably impressed with what they had learned.

"He has come down on a host of issues in a way that the business community would prefer," said Robin Conrad, senior vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the legal arm of the United States Chamber of Commerce, who has been researching Judge Alito's opinions. "This is not a guy who is going to go off the reservation."

Judge Samuel Alito has consistantly shown favortism toward the corporate ruling class. He is not a "man of the people". Thanks to activists like Mary Harris “Mother”Jones we have laws that protect us in the work place, including protections for women and children. But these accomplishments did not come with out a heafty price. In my opinion Judge Alito would overturn many of these laws if agued before him. His presense on the court would throw off the fragile balance and potentially reverse the clock to a more draconian time.

It is important to remember that "we the Rabble" can lose the rights that we have in a moment. Democracy is not handed down to each generation; it is earned by each generation. We must step up and reclaim our democracy now, or lose it forever.

Act Now

Amusing Quote:

"President Bush was asked how he came up with a conservative like Alito, and he said he got the idea over the weekend while turning the clocks back." --Jay Leno